


Nobody Touches My Kid

by butterflyslinky



Category: Atop the Fourth Wall
Genre: Gen, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 03:57:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1495726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflyslinky/pseuds/butterflyslinky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: SPOILERS It's been all but outright stated on Atop the Fourth Wall that Harvey sees Linkara as a son, since Harvey's own son died. Since I love me some protectivefather!Harvey, I cannot ignore this opportunity.</p><p>So: someone kidnaps Linkara (for ransom, information, whatever)and Harvey goes ballistic and rescues him, making sure the kidnappers are punished. Major bonus points if Linkara is bound and gagged during captivity. ALL the bonus points if Harvey says something like, "Don't ever lay a hand on my kid again."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody Touches My Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the TGWTG Kink Meme.

"Not again… not again…”

Harvey fell onto the futon, the note that had just come in the mail clutched in his hand, his eyes squeezed shut to try and block out the tears. He couldn’t take it, not now, not when things were finally looking like they were getting back to normal. Not when he knew that it was his fault, again, and that he was about to lose another boy… another kid he was supposed to protect.

He should never have allowed himself to get so close, never let himself feel anything, but of course he had, how could he not when Linkara was so much like Charlie, so similar to the child he had lost? Older, sure, more what Charlie would have been if things had gone right, if Harvey hadn’t been so stupid, but still the closest thing Harvey had to his own family. Still the person Harvey had sworn to protect.

And now…

“Finevoice—

Linkara has requested your presence. It would be best for both of you if you complied.”

There were details on where Harvey was to go and when, but those didn’t seem important. Harvey knew he would go, he would turn himself over to the men who had come in to shatter his life again. He knew that he would die for the kid.

Midnight, the note said. Be there at midnight. Harvey could only hope that Linkara was still alive by then, if he wasn’t dead already. It was unlikely—these people didn’t kill anyone they didn’t have to. They didn’t like getting their hands dirty, didn’t like making more trouble for themselves. But they did like making trouble for other people. And they didn’t hesitate to carry out threats.

Harvey calmed himself enough to look at the clock. He had a few more hours. There would be no point in showing up early, they probably had someone watching the place to prevent an ambush. The thought of calling the police never even crossed Harvey’s mind—he didn’t trust the cops, not after Charlie’s death went unpunished.

He thought briefly about calling one of the others, but Dr. Linksano would be more of a liability than an asset, the Ninja-Style Dancer was off again, and 90’s Kid was so young… no, it would be best if Harvey went alone. Just him, his pistol, and a communicator watch, just in case. Linkara had been gone for two days already, there was no guarantee about what condition he would be in, if he was even alive. Better to be able to call someone after the fact to take care of any injuries.

Harvey checked his gun carefully, making sure it was fully loaded, and tested his communicator before going into the kitchen and pouring himself a drink. His hands stopped shaking as he drank, and his mind felt clearer. He wasn’t just going to give himself up, not if he could help it. He’d get Linkara out first, that was certain, but he would sooner go down fighting than simply kneel down and take a bullet to the head. And if they had hurt Linkara at all, he would take as many of them with him as he could.

One drink followed another as the last hour wore on, but it made no difference. Harvey had long since built his tolerance up to a point where he could have downed the entire bottle without feeling the effects. Finally, after half the bottle, and with only fifteen minutes left until Harvey needed to be there, he put the brandy away and left the apartment. He could only hope that he wasn’t too late.

*  
Dark. That was the only word that came to Linkara’s mind.

The man who had grabbed him as he walked home from the comic store was dark. The van was dark. The room they were holding him in was dark. And after all they had done with him, Linkara’s own mind was dark.

He was tied to a chair, the knots far too complicated for him to wriggle out of like he always had before, and he had been gagged not to stop him from screaming for help but to quell the stream of snarky comments that Linkara was constantly making, even after being hit several times. Even after they had tied the gag around his head, Linkara had kept up a stream of incomprehensible sass, and they had hurt him more, punches to the gut, slaps to the face, and once a knife, cutting his arms and coming perilously close to his throat. And when that failed to silence him, they had pulled out a gun and struck him with that, which had served to knock him out for a few hours, but wasn’t quite enough to kill him. After he had regained consciousness, Linkara had acted as though he was still out so he could try and determine exactly what they wanted.

“Do you really think Finevoice will show?” he heard one of them mutter.

“He’ll show,” another answered. “We have his boy, and one thing I know about Finevoice is that he’ll come for his boys.”

“Always was a bit too good, our Finevoice,” a third man muttered. “Always trying to protect people, even ones who didn’t want his protection.”

“So what do we do?” the first voice asked. “Kill Finevoice the moment he shows up? Or shoot the kid first?”

“The boy lives,” one of the others, who Linkara presumed to be the leader, answered. “One body is tragic, two are suspicious. We need him to convince Finevoice to cooperate. And Finevoice doesn’t walk after. He knows too much.”

There was a pause, then the third man said, “Five minutes to midnight.”

“Wake the boy,” the leader said, and Linkara opened his eyes as he was slapped across the face again. “Your pal Finevoice should be here soon,” the leader continued. “If he cares about you, of course. So be good and maybe we’ll let you live.”  
Linkara glared as best as he could and made a few noises around the gag. His tone must have come through, because the leader frowned and the man beside him hit him again. “Of course, we don’t have to be so nice,” the leader continued. “We’ve been gentle with you so far as a favor to Finevoice. Once he’s here…”

Linkara squeezed his eyes shut to prevent himself from responding. Harvey would come. Harvey would help him.

*  
Harvey wondered why he always ended up in these situations. Namely, sneaking into clichéd abandoned buildings to rescue people who wouldn’t need rescuing if they weren’t associated with him. But he knew he had to go on. He couldn’t lose Linkara. Not this time.

He took a deep breath as he knocked on the door. They weren’t going to hurt Linkara anymore. They weren’t. They couldn’t.

The door opened almost immediately. “You’re late, Finevoice,” a man’s voice said from the darkness. “Gillette’s not going to like that.”

“Gillette doesn’t like anything,” Harvey snarled. “And it’s only a minute. Now take me in.”

The man shrugged and led Harvey down a hallway into a room that was dimly lit by a single overhead light. Immediately upon entering, Harvey saw Linkara, tied to a chair and gagged, his face a mess of bruises and cuts. But what got Harvey were the kid’s eyes. Linkara was scared, and for Harvey, that was the worst crime of all. Linkara should never be scared. Never.

“Hello, Finevoice,” a silky voice said from another chair. “Nice of you to join us.”

“So I’ve come,” Harvey snapped. “Let the kid go.”

“Why would I do that?” the silky voice asked as the man stood up and moved into the light. “He’s a pretty boy. I see why you like him.”

Harvey’s hand tightened on his revolver. “You’ll let him go so I don’t plug you full of holes,” Harvey snarled. “He’s no use to you. It’s me you want, Gillette.”

Gillette laughed. “Really, Harvey, you think you can threaten me?” he asked. “I know you. You may talk big, but you’ve never killed a man in your life. You don’t have it in you to actually hurt anyone.” There was a glint of metal and then there was a knife at Linkara’s throat. “Especially since killing me will be all the worse for your boy here.”

Harvey swallowed and allowed his grip to loosen. “What do you want from me?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

“There’s some information in your possession that we need,” Gillette answered. “Some information Charlie gave you. You remember, I’m sure. Pity that Von Minden caught up with him first.”  
Harvey’s hands shook harder. “Don’t you dare,” he whispered. “Don’t you dare talk about Charlie.”

“We need it, Finevoice. Whatever it was that Von Minden gave to him.”

“Never. I’m not part of your war and I’m not giving that to you.”  
The knife moved up and slashed Linkara’s cheek. A muffled cry split the air and his eyes grew wider. Begging.

“What did he tell you?”

“Nothing. Charlie didn’t tell me nothing.”

Another cut, narrowly avoiding Linkara’s eye.

“We can do this all night. Or we can end it now. Tell us what you know and the boy will live. You don’t want to lose another one.”  
Harvey swallowed. “Let him go,” he said, his voice cracking. “Let him go and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Gillette laughed. “I know how you work, Finevoice. The kid walks, you pull out that gun of yours and kill us all as soon as he’s clear. The boy doesn’t go until we have what we need.”  
“And I’m dead.”

“Would you rather it be him?” The knife was back on Linkara’s throat. “Your choice is simple. Tell us what we want to know, he lives. Otherwise…”

Harvey looked at Linkara, trying to apologize with his eyes. 'I’m sorry you got caught up in this. I’m sorry I can’t save you. I’m sorry you got hurt because of me. And I’m sorry you have to see this.'

The knife started digging into Linkara’s skin. The blood was starting to bead on the metal. “We’re waiting,” Gillette said.  
Harvey looked up at Gillette. “You really thought I’d just come in and give up, didn’t you?” he asked. “You thought I’d just save the kid and die? Well, think again.” Harvey pulled out his revolver and took aim. “Because nobody touches my kid.”

The knife started to bite harder, but Harvey pulled the trigger before the cut ran too deep. Gillette fell, the knife leaving his hand and clattering to the floor.

There were footsteps, but Harvey turned and both of the other men fell before they could reach him. There was a pause and a ringing silence while Harvey waited, expecting more to jump out at any moment, but after a minute, he rushed to Linkara’s side.

Linkara was staring wide-eyed at the scene. Harvey grabbed the knife from the floor and cut the rope off of Linkara’s wrists and ankles and the cloth away from his mouth. As soon as he was free, Linkara fell off the chair into Harvey’s arms, his head still pounding from being hit earlier, shock, pain and exhaustion overtaking him.

“No… come on, Kid, stay with me… don’t go to sleep, you probably have a concussion, stay here…” Harvey pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it to Linkara’s neck to stem the flow of blood. “It’s okay, now, everything’s okay, I’m here, they can’t hurt you anymore…”

“Harvey… they… you killed them…”

Harvey closed his eyes, trying to block out the shock in Linkara’s voice. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “They… I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t watch them hurt you and I didn’t know what else… and Charlie and I couldn’t face it again… I had to…”

Linkara’s arm moved, groping blindly for Harvey’s hand. Harvey took it. “It’s okay, Kid,” Harvey said again. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”

“I know,” Linkara whispered. “I… thank you.”

Harvey pulled Linkara closer to him, hugging him tight as he started to sing.

"Close your eyes,  
Have no fear.  
The monster’s gone,  
He’s on the run,  
And your daddy’s here…"


End file.
